July Data: S Korea exports down for 7th month

SEOUL: South Korea’s exports shrank in July for a seventh straight month due to sluggish global demand and low oil prices, government data showed. Exports fell 3.3% from a year earlier to $46.61 billion in July, while imports plunged 15.3% to $38.85 billion, the Ministry of Trade, Industries and Energy said. Car exports fell 6.2% on-year to $3.99 billion, while shipments of mobile communication devices including cellphones plunged 16% to $2.15 billion, it said. South Korean shipments to China shrank 6.4 percent from a year earlier, the ministry said. The country’s trade surplus narrowed to $7.76 billion in July from the previous month’s $9.98 billion. The trade balance has been in the black since February 2012.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 2^nd, 2015.

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